Photo Gallery: Fish Tank
Photo Gallery:
Fish Tank
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April 2008
added 2nd and final batch of man made live rock and rearranged display
the majority of rock in the tank is now man [self] made. all caves,
pillars, towers
are white Portland cement, method is found below.
you can click the picture for a closer, larger image.
Also, new additions as of 4/12/08:
2" Convict Tang
small Flame Angelfish
pair of True Percula Clownfish
(2) 1.25" Hippo Tangs
Hector's Goby
small Yellow Clown Goby
(3) Threadfin CardinalFish
and soon to come:
(2) more 1.25" Hippo Tangs
2.5" Naso Tang
bi-color bleny
firefish
these added to tank already containing:
Rainford's goby
green mandarinfish
currently, 2.5" Kole Tang in refugium because he'd probably bully the new
additions
new coral shipment coming soon (approx 4/25/08) consisting of:
more zoas
Florida Ricordias
Ricordia Yumas
Purple Pluming Gorgonian
and a mystery, unknown coral t.b.a.
November 2007
I purchased some zoa's, paly's, and 2 ricordia from a private fellow
reefer.
as of 11-25-07 (almost 2 weeks having them), 7 of 10 specimens looking good.
What I got, a few polyps each:
bam bam oranges
blood rains
ked reds
giant cinnamon paly
green speckled PPE's
purple fission palys
tequilla zoas
zombie eyes
(1) yellow-green ricordia polyp
(1) green-lavender ricordia polyp
and one other zoa I don't know and can't identify yet
All zoa's that have opened are pencil eraser size. The giant Paly is
looking mediocre,
and two other zoa's are borderline/probably doomed. [april08 edit:
all corals survived and are doing well]
I can identify the Ked
Reds and the Bam Bams as ok.
I originally contacted this reefer just for the Bam Bams, so I'm happy.
:-D
pics will come soon, as soon as my new metal halide lights are burned in, about
100 burn hours
Oh yes, I also got a pair of Phoenix 14000k 150 watt hqi metal halide bulbs to
replace my old 20000k bulbs, a year old. They're really a great
improvement over what I had. And I installed 2 new little fans in the end
of the hood, to replace one single little fan that stopped running.
Replaced 1 fan with 2 fans. Improvement. They're 50mm CPU fans for
Pentium II processors. hah
September 2007
new man made live rock (MMLR) added to the tank.
homemade in E's garage and basement.
the bright stuff is the new MMLR.
May 2007
what is this thing?
I found it in the fish tank near newly crashing, collapsing Xenias.
It hadn't been added, and if it was on live rock that had
been added, the last rock I put in the tank was 2-3 years ago.
Long-lasting hitchhiker. Makes me think he was predator.
Oct '07: I think I figured it out -
it was simply a Nassarius snail, which
somehow hitchhiked up from my 'fuge, I think.
March 2007
rearranged the tank again, removed left plastic egg crate
Evergreen Starburst Polyps - March 2007
do-it-yourself man made reef rock
-------------------
December 2006
New coral: As a
Christmas gift, I received in the mail a new addition
from Ryan and Jaime on Dec 13th:
and less than 2 weeks later, Dec 24th:
Evergreen Starburst Polyps
Briareum species
Thanks again R & J!
- On another note,
the Sohal Tang jumped to his death onto the floor
around 12/8/06. I've known
that I've needed to build a canopy ASAP to encircle the top of the aquarium to
avoid this issue.
A very expensive lesson.
Right before then, our Naso died in mid-November. He filled a 5-gallon
bucket,
spanning the width, 10" or 11" , and he was a full 1.0" thick. Had to bury
him.
Also, Fred, our Flame Hawkfish, disappeared. I do not see him on the
floor, but I suspect
that eventually I will, another victim of not having a canopy on this tank.
November 2006
Tank display rearrangement
and two soft coral added - pumping Xenia and yellow polyps
video here
- video of Xenia, pumping away -
video here
and I rearranged the display, added about 40 lbs of dry rock, soon to be live
rock
October 2006
Some improvements in the tank within the past 5 weeks
Replaced the pumps in the tank, bought
dual Via Aqua 4900's.
These pumps, with consideration for a 5 foot vertical climb into the tank, are
rated at 824 g.p.h. x2 and that totals 1650 g.p.h. total flow.
(click here for specs)
Return lines and return nozzles replaced; each line has only one 90 degree bend now.
New Odyssea light fixture - dual
150w HQI metal halides, 20,000k bulbs. Along with the
metal halides, dual 96w Power Compact fluorescents, actinic.
Included for night lighting, night viewing, are six 1-watt"blue moon" LED lights.
150w + 150w + 96w + 96w = 492 watt
total.
Some Sohal Tang pics, October 2006
Sohal Tang pictures, Oct 2006. He moves too fast for a high-def picture.
Take a look below, from Nov '05, to compare and see how he's grown.
I don't have a comparable shot of Sohal Tang & Purple Tang from 10/05, but I do
have
a shot of the then-newly-purchased Sohal and the Naso tang, and then
a shot of the Naso and the Purple Tang. You can deduce his size from that.
CLICK
HERE for 4 mb video of fish /fish tank
to save onto your pc, right-click, select 'Save target as...'
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
My first experience with Muriatic Acid
Over the years, I've reduced the amount of live rock in the tank for the purpose
of increasing circulation and decreasing 'dead spots' where waste and excess
food collects on the aquarium floor. This removed rock has been sitting in
boxes as part of my 'aquarium junk' area of the basement since then. I've
never wanted to re-introduce this rock into the fish tank because it all had
algae and live organisms on it that have since died and dried up on the rock. Putting
this live rock back into the tank would introduce lots of organic matter and
nitrates which would start to break down and hurt the tank. So I've never
put this used 'live' rock back in.
In reading RC,
I've found a solution: Muriatic Acid. Putting the rock into
Muriatic acid,
1) dissolves organic waste,
and 2) releases any nitrate and phosphate that the rock had absorbed/bonded
which would be released if put the rock back in tank. So I've setup my
first 'acid bath' experiment.
Abstract: Live rock, which is calcium carbonate (CaCO3), has
huge surface area which a) releases ions slowly, creating a necessary buffer for
maintaining alkalinity and pH and b) houses aerobic bacteria which consumes
ammonia, nitrite, and finally nitrate. Over time, however, enough nitrate
and organics are absorbed into the rock that it creates a 'nitrate sink' which
starts to release Nitrate back into the water, not a good thing. At the
same time, the free surface carbonate is used up, thereby no longer buffering
the tank. Putting
used live rock into an acid bath (either vinegar or Muriatic acid) dissolves the
surface layer of CaCO3, releasing the nitrates and organics from the live rock
into the acid water, and renewing the surface of the rock.
Design and Method:
using a 40 gallon hex fish tank, filled tank with 10 gallons of Reverse Osmosis
(RO) water, free of dissolved solids. placed approx 20 pieces of rock
(average size = 1-pint milk carton) and a couple ornamental conch shells from
Aruba Honeymoon trip into the water. Ran two air bubbler lines into the
water, placing where they would produce most water movement. Placed a
water pump in need of cleaning into tank water. Turned on air and water
pumps.
Poured 1/2 gallon of Muriatic acid into water. I had bought a 2-pack of
gallon bottles of the stuff from Home Depot. Muriatic acid is better known
as Hydrochloric Acid, and this stuff was Hydrochloric Acid 8, and has a
concentration of 31.5% HCl.
Strong
stuff.
As soon as I poured the acid into water (always acid into water, never pour
water into acid), everything started to froth up. I immediately was unable
to see into even the middle of the tank, due to the caustic bubbles being
created. Along with the air and water pumps, the tank looked like a
Witches Brew. Visible fuming occurred for about 15 seconds, but over all,
very little fumes were apparent, as minimal smell was apparent.
Within 5 minutes, a 3-inch layer of disgusting bubbles and froth formed on top of
the water. Reminded me of the ocean foam we used to see in the surf in
Atlantic City. A lovely thought.
Turned off and removed the water pump after 5-10 minutes, figuring all calcium
deposits have been removed. It's made of plastic, after all. Placed
pump into 5-gallon bucket of fresh water to flush it and disposed of fresh water
down the sink. Pump looks very clean, almost new. Pump is not used
for rest of experiment.
Let air bubblers circulate the now-mustard-color water until 45 total minutes
have passed. Acid bubbles have greatly reduced, only dirty brown water
remains. Drained acid water (color of beer) into buckets w/ 1 gallon water
in them initially, to weaken any acid left, and pour down utility tub, washing
with lots of water each time afterwards.
After draining a 1st time, filled tank with 6 gallons of RO water to flush acid
and grime, and drained again.
After draining a 2nd time, filled with a 3rd bath of RO water and let it sit
overnight. Drained and dried the coral the following day.
Results and Conclusion: Not quite a bleaching, but live rock
is much brighter and visibly cleaner. Ornamental barnacles are now purple
and white, instead of brown and white. Live rock looks a tiny bit "sanded
down", a little warn, as if it was too much acid on the rock and rock
dissolved just a little bit.
If and when I do this again, I will probably keep the same concentration, or a
little stronger, but decrease time. It took a while to drain the acid
water, and by the time I was finished draining the water, which took almost an
hour maybe, over 90 minutes had passed. By that time, looked like acid had
been exhausted. But overall, I'd say a successful experiment. Hex
tank's glass and silicone looks fine, by the way. I'll be placing the live
rock in the tank within the next two weeks, when I re-landscape the display,
this rock will be reincorporated into the tank.
10/27/06 Addendum:
upon further review, everything is eaten away *hahahahah*
- some of the smaller barnacles have holes on the side, like I rubbed them with
sandpaper and made a hole.
- some of the coral is now extra sharp, extra pointy, like what an icicle does
when it melts.
Conclusion #2: I'll cut the strength in half, as well as
knocking the soak time in half, next time.
Friday JAN 13th, 2006 New filter tank has split apart
Apparently, Marine epoxy can't hold up to salt water. go figure.
two pieces that I had epoxyed together separated, we were
getting water under the tank
and as of last night, starting to seep onto the floor. I had to remove the new
50 gallon
sump and put back the 29-gallon tank I originally had in there. working
until 1:00 am last night.
I had tested the tank beforehand in the garage, filled it with water, and then
even threw a
pump in and pumped water from the 3rd section back to the 1st section,
duplicating the
water flow. Sitting water test was 7 days, pump test was 5 days.
I did not test with 80 degree water, did not think that would have made a
difference.
(1) Disaster |----X---------------| Success (10)
fish tank
Tuesday, Jan 24th, 2006: Tank re-sealed using Acrylic Cement
Really cool stuff: consistency of maple syrup, clear, this cement actually
melts the
acrylic pieces you want to bond, and then dries, leaving the pieces 'melted'
together.
tested the tank with water, all is fine, and it looks much, much stronger.
Re-incorporated new filter tank into system, no leaks.
** 9 months later so far and no problems. **
(1) Disaster |----------------X--| Success (10)
fish tank
NEW INHABITANTS JANUARY 2006
ordered fish via FedEx, arrived Jan 4th
here are some Internet photos of the species that I ordered:
Top row: Bicolor Blenny, Citrinis Goby
2nd row: Flame Hawkfish, Zebra hermit crabs (3
purchased)
just bought a 6-line wrasse from local fish store.
I'm done with purchasing from Live Aquaria-dot-com. the clownfish that came
in yesterday was less than an inch long. He's going to get beat up.
All fish were small, generally, except for the Flame Hawk and Bangaii Cardinal
fish. 3 have died already, and I'm confident the
conditions/acclimation they went thru were good.
November 2005
This tank has been running on its own for a while now. Jack is over
two years old, and before his arrival I setup the tank to need
as little maintenance as possible, as I knew I wouldn't have time to work
on it in any consistent basis. It has surpassed my expectations
for a tank which I have not devoted any time on for these past two years.
Part of the enjoyment and a significant requirement of this hobby is tinkering
and
adjustment of the tank, and no changes had been made in over 24 months.
Starting in October of this year(2005), I've slowly been increasing maintenance
and adjusting the tank, and the purchase of a Sohal Tang beginning of November
2005 is a
significant purchase. Having this Red Sea endemic fish (pictures don't do it
justice) with a similarly aggressive Purple Tang and also an adult Naso Tang
would be unheard of. I replaced my Sailfin Tang with this Sohal Tang, and
having
those three tangs of that size was unheard of, as well. If this guy 1) doesn't
get
picked on and croak or 2) doesn't kill somebody and all three tangs co-exist, I'm told
by [Internet] writers and photographers that they want to see it
themselves.
The current (Nov '05) Tank inhabitants:
Naso Tang
Purple Tang
Sohal Tang
Flame Angelfish
Cinnamon clown
a lone blue-green Chromis
brittle starfish
Sea Serpent Starfish
2 Queen Conchs
approx 30 blue-leg hermit crabs
approx 20 Cerith Snails
The tank is now officially 'reef-safe', meaning I could purchase any soft corals,
large polyp corals, small-polyp stony (SPS) corals, starfish, shrimp, crabs,
snails, or even some giant Maxima clams, and no other inhabitants would eat/harm
these reef animals. All of these fish and any future fish will be
reef-safe in case I ever get an urge to purchase any [more] of these invertebrate
animals.
Recent losses: I recently added 20
hermit crabs as part of a package to clean up the tank, and two days later our
oldest resident, a Flame Hawkfish, named Fred, disappeared. No
coincidence, I'm sure. We had Fred for 4 1/2 years, he is the only fish
that we intend to replace with the exact same species. He was that enjoyable to
watch.
Also, I finally caught the Red Coris Wrasse, Coris
gaimard, that was terrorizing the tank. This guy was the
definition of NOT reef-safe. Growing from barely over an inch long to over
four inches, things got ugly. Attacking other fish (ergo the single Chromis
fish left) and eating any invertebrate or anything that grew on the rock in the
tank. I had to remove every piece of landscaping from the tank to find
him, buried and hiding under the sand. pet store gave me $20 credit as
trade-in. I had to catch him before adding anything else to the tank.
Current residents:
Naso Tang, Spring 2003.
Click onto thumbnail for a full size picture.
Naso Tang, Nov 2005. He's now about .75 inches THICK , about 8 inch long.
When he died of illness Nov. 2006, he was measured with tape measure, 1.0" thick
and 10"long.
Nov 2005: New purchase of 4.25 inch Sohal Tang,
Oct 2005: new purchase of Flame Angel.
This new guy moves so fast, I needed a high speed setting on the camera.
The eyes reflect the flash in most of these pictures,
but his colors are lost with a flash. Boldly colored fish.
Here's a reference in the size difference between the Naso and Sohal Tangs.
the Shoal isn't going to mess with the big Naso. All of the fighting he's doing is
with the Purple Tang, who dwarfs the Sohal, as well. Nevertheless, if the Sohal
lasts this first month, I expect him to eventually beat up and exterminate the
Purple Tang.
Naso tang and Purple tang, feeding on some Nori from the clip.
That white clip is about two inches across, for size reference.
Now compare the Sohal Tang, picture above with this Naso, and you see the size
difference between the Sohal and Purple Tangs. The Sohal holds his
own. Aggressive little fish, which grows to 14" in the wild.
Purple Tang, over 4 years in the tank. He's a good half inch thick, 4+
inches long.
A close-up of our little Cinnamon Clownfish, 2005.
By 2007, he's grown medium size and throws his 1/2 oz around.
(Sept 2007 - traded him in for credit)
Nov 2005 picture of Mr. C. He can almost span the tank
from front to back now, which is 24 inches 'deep'.
(started eating fish, traded him in for credit 01/2008)
2003 picture of Mr. C.
FULL TANK SHOTS
April 2008
added 2nd and final batch of man made live rock and rearranged display
September 2007
first batch of man-made live rock
March 2007
March 2007
November 2006
October 2006
November 2005
2003
Past Pictures:
2004:
This was labeled a
'"Bali green leaf wrasse" when I purchased it, I couldn't verify this species.
Finally, in May '04, Mike D. provided the species name, Novaculichthys
macrolepidotus. Thank you Mike D.
I found references to it being called a "Seagrass Wrasse".
However, this guy jumped out of the tank, to his
own demise. Otherwise, he was a great addition to the tank.
Purple Tang.
Photo is November 2002. Purchased sometime in 2001.
He lived until November 2007. We buried him in the garden.
-- click thumbnail for larger picture --
Spring 2002, we had a Raccoon Butterfly for about 6 months, and
note the school of [originally] 24 Blue-green Chromis. We still have
one of those
little guys. They slowly pick on the smallest one of the group, Lord of the Flies style.
I also saw a recently removed Red Coris Wrasse go after them from time to
time. I'll blame him for the decrease in the school.
It's a life and death struggle,
people. We got to roll with the punches.
Three Heniochus were purchased 2003, and were quickly killed.
Thumbnail pics are below if you'd like
a closer look.
All four pictures were within 24 hours.
eric notes:
2/4/2008 dry goods list to buy:
Lugol's
Mrs. Wage's
grounding probe
thermometer (2)
200w heater
new magnet scraper?
feb16th08 -
Pinpoint 53ms Calibration fluid
to calibrate refractometer to 35 ppt
Any tank larger than nano size, an RO/DI is a
no-brainer. SImple and effective. You don't need an expensive name brand RO/DI.
They are all pretty much the same. The filter guys .com has a 4 stage for $124.
Just replace the second carbon block with a refillable DI cartridge for about
$30 and you have a very sound 4 stage system.
Air water Ice has a TDS pen for $24.95
get a Salifert test kit for pH - sounds like they're the most reliable.
pick up some Rowaphos
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